Murat Kurnaz

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Murat Kurnaz
Born (1982-03-19) March 19, 1982
Bremen, Germany
Detained at Kandahar Internment Facility, Guantanamo
ISN 61
Status Transferred to Germany

Murat Kurnaz (born March 19, 1982 Bremen, Germany) is a Turkish citizen and legal resident of Germany who was wrongly held in extrajudicial detention[1] by the United States at its military base in Kandahar, Afghanistan and in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba for five years. As a child of guest workers, under German law Kurnaz had to go through a process to gain citizenship after becoming 18, which he had in process when he was arrested in Pakistan in late 2001. He was only 19 years old at that time.[2][3]

Officials of the United States and Germany had largely concluded in early 2002 that the accusations against Kurnaz were groundless, but he was detained for five years. He was released and arrived in Germany on August 24, 2006.[4][5]

Kurnaz says that he was tortured during detention in Kandahar and Guantanamo. In testimony via videolink in 2008 to a United States congressional hearing, he described suffering electric shock, simulated drowning (known as waterboarding), and days spent chained by his arms to the ceiling of an airplane hangar at Kandahar.[6] His memoir of his experience, Five Years of My Life: An Innocent Man in Guantanamo (2008) was published in the German, French, Norwegian, Danish and Dutch languages in 2007. Excerpts were published serially by The Guardian beginning April 23, 2008.

In his book, Kurnaz also wrote about the deaths of three detainees in custody on June 10, 2006. The US Department of Defense said they had committed suicide. Given the conditions at the camp and in the cells, where the detainees were always under observation, Kurnaz said that he and other prisoners "unanimously agreed, the men had been killed. Maybe they had been beaten to death and then strung up, or perhaps they had been strangled."[7]

Guantanamo detention center files

Combatant Status Review Tribunal

Main article: Combatant Status Review Tribunal

Kurnaz was among the 60% of prisoners who chose to participate in the Combatant Status Review Tribunals beginning in 2004. These followed the US Supreme Court decision in Rasul v. Bush that detainees had a right to due process and habeas corpus to challenge the grounds of their detention as enemy combatants; the remainder boycotted the CSRTs. A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for each detainee for review by the tribunal. Such memos listed the allegations that supported detention as an "enemy combatant".[citation needed]

Kurnaz's memo states:[8][9]

a. The detainee is a member or ally of Al Qaida or its network:
  1. The detainee admitted he traveled from Frankfurt, Germany to Kurachi [sic], Pakistan (via plane), to Islamabad, PK (via plane), and to Lahore, PK (via bus) [sic] unnamed village (vic [sic] of Peshawar, PK) and attempted travel back to Peshawar when he was arrested and brought into custody.
  2. The timeline associated with the detainee is as follows: Became associated with an Islamic missionary group named Jamayat Al Tabliq [sic] in June 01, US is attacked on 11 September 01, travels to PK on 3 October 01, continues travels until his capture.
  3. Detainee is a close associate with, and planned to travel to PK with, an individual who later engaged in a suicide bombing. Bilgin possibly is the Elalanutus suicide bomber.
b. The detainee participated in activities with a group that is part of the Al Qaida network.
  1. The detainee stated he received free food, lodging and schooling from an NGO known to support terrorist acts against the United States while traveling in PK. He was sponsored by this NGO.
  2. The detainee admitted that the school in Lahore, PK was run by this NGO, specifically the NGO President.


Administrative Review Board

Detainees whose Combatant Status Review Tribunal labeled them "enemy combatants" were scheduled for annual Administrative Review Board hearings. These hearings were designed to assess the threat a detainee might pose if released or transferred, and whether there were other factors that warranted his continued detention.[10]

First annual Administrative Review Board

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Kurnaz's first annual Administrative Review Board, on 12 October 2005.[11] The memo listed factors for and against his continued detention.

Transcript

During March 2006, the Department of Defense started to comply with a court order from US District Court Justice Jed Rakoff related to an FOIA request.[12] It released a transcript of Kurnaz's hearing.[13]

Second annual Administrative Review Board

A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Karnaz's second annual Administrative Review Board, on 28 June 2006.[14] The memo listed factors for and against his continued detention.

Transcript

Murat Karnaz did not choose to attend this hearing.[15] He gave his responses to the factors to his Assisting Military Officer during a pre-hearing interview. His Assisting Military Officer did present these responses to the Board during the unclassified session of the hearing. The Department of Defense did not publish a transcript from the hearing's unclassified session.

Board recommendations

In early September 2007, DOD released two heavily redacted memos from Kurnaz's Board, to Gordon R. England, the Designated Civilian Official.[15][16] The Board's recommendation was unanimous. The Board's recommendation was redacted. England authorized Kurnaz's transfer to Germany on 8 July 2006.

Murat Kurnaz v. George W. Bush

Kurnaz was one of the detainees with enough legal assistance to challenge the legality of his review in a Washington, D.C. federal court. A writ of habeas corpus, Murat Kurnaz v. George W. Bush, was submitted on his behalf in October 2004.[17] His case was one of nearly 60 that were submitted following the US Supreme Court's decision in Rasul v. Bush (2004), which ruled that detainees had the right of due process and habeas corpus to challenge the grounds of their detention. The numerous cases were reviewed and coordinated by Judge Joyce Hens Green of the US Appeals Court for the District of Columbia.

In response to Kurnaz's habeas corpus petition, on 15 October 2004, the Department of Defense published 32 pages of unclassified documents related to his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.

In 2005, Kurnaz's file was declassified, through a bureaucratic slip-up. During the brief window when it was declassified, in March 2005 the Washington Post reviewed all the evidence against him and published a summary.[18]The file documented that both German investigators and United States Army investigators had failed to find any evidence of a tie between Kurnaz and Al-Qaeda or any involvement in any terrorist activities, and this information was available in 2002.[18]

Carol Leonnig reported:

"In fact, that evidence, recently declassified and obtained by The Washington Post, shows that U.S. military intelligence and German law enforcement authorities had largely concluded there was no information that linked Kurnaz to al Qaeda, any other terrorist organization or terrorist activities."[18]

The three officers of the military panel who reviewed Kurnaz's case asserted that they had other, classified evidence that established his guilt. But, they never disclosed this evidence to Kurnaz, his attorneys, or to the public.

One allegation was that he was traveling to Pakistan with a friend Selcuk Bilgin, who the Pentagon said was involved in a bombing. This was not true; he is married and lives in Germany with his family, and has never been arrested nor involved in a bombing.[19]

During his CSRT reviews, Kurnaz was erroneously informed by the interrogators that Bilgin had been "engaged" in a suicide bombing, and asked him to describe his relationship to Bilgin.[20] Kurnaz denied having any knowledge of Bilgin's involvement in a suicide bombing, and denied knowing anybody who ever discussed committing an act of terrorism.[20]

Kurnaz is one of the detainees who has alleged that he was subject to what the Bush administration termed "enhanced interrogation techniques," generally known as torture, which included a type of suffocation by drowning (known as waterboarding), sexual humiliation, beatings, extremes of heat or cold, and the desecration of his religion.

According to a German news source, he had been denied the right to return to Germany, as his 'indefinite residence permit' had expired due to his being out of the country for more than six months. (As the child of 'guest workers,' under German law, he is not automatically afforded full German citizenship; but since he was born in Bremen, he is granted an 'indefinite residence permit' there and an opportunity to become a naturalized citizen.) This ruling by the Foreign Office was overturned by the regional administrative court of Bremen on 30 November 2004, stating that due to his incarceration in Guantanamo, he had been unable to apply for an extension of his 'leave permit' and was still eligible to return to Germany.

On December 14, 2005 it was confirmed that officials of the German foreign and domestic intelligence agencies (Bundesnachrichtendienst and Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz) had participated in the interrogation of Kurnaz at least once during a stay at the Guantanamo Bay camps between September 21 and September 27, 2002. German authorities are forbidden to assist in the legal process of a foreign nation if the punishment from that process can result in the death penalty, or if the legal process fails to meet certain standards of fairness. The detainees in Guantanamo Bay were potentially capable of being executed following their trials (if they were charged with capital crimes — Kurnaz was not), and debates abound regarding the fairness of the process.

According to a December 22, 2005 story by United Press International, Kurnaz's brief stay at a Tablighi Jamaat hostel led to the United States intelligence officials' decision to capture and detain him.[21]

In May 2008, Kurnaz testified from Bremen, Germany via videolink to a US Congressional hearing on due process for detainees. The lawmakers had recently received declassified documents that showed both German and United States intelligence officials had determined in 2002 that Kurnaz was not a member of al-Qaeda and had no links to them. But, he was detained and ill treated for four more years. The military has said its panel reviewed information that is still classified but has never offered to share that even with lawmakers with top security clearances. Both Republicans and Democrats were disturbed about Kurnaz's case, as it followed other reports of excesses in the US war on terror.[19]

Release

On February 12, 2006 Deutsche Welle reported that Kurnaz's lawyers were hopeful that German authorities were close to negotiating Kurnaz's repatriation.[22] It speculated that the Americans would agree to the release, or transfer, on the condition Kurnaz be subjected to constant surveillance by Germany.

The German magazine Focus reported that the Bush administration was trying to tie the release of Kurnaz to Germany's agreeing to accept four other Guantanamo detainees.[23] The USA has cleared approximately 120 detainees for release - or transfer. But, many could not be returned to their countries of origin because they were likely to face retaliation from their governments.

The German and American governments denied that Kurnaz's release has been tied to Germany accepting other detainees.[23] Focus says that the German government has agreed to accept one other detainee, not four, and that the Americans have not informed the German government of the identity of the other men it wants them to accept.[23]

Kurnaz was released on August 24, 2006. Like other released Guantanamo captives, he was transported by plane in shackles, wearing a muzzle, opaque goggles and sound-blocking ear-muffs. He was reported to have been denied food and water during the 17-hour flight.[24]

German soldiers investigated

Kurnaz alleges that, while he was in American detention in Kandahar, German soldiers were allowed to interrogate him.[25] According to an article by the United Press International, Kurnaz picked out the picture of his interrogator from 60 photos he was shown of members of the German military's elite KSK unit.[25] Deutsche Welle and Reuters report that Kurnaz was shown 48 photos of members of the KSK unit, only 14 of whom were in Kandahar in January 2002, the time of the alleged abuse.[26][27][28]

Kurnaz alleges the soldier grabbed him by hair and smashed his head into the ground.[25][26][27] The International Herald Tribune reports that, in addition, the soldiers kicked Kurnaz.[29] UPI reports that the soldiers are accused of "aggravated assault".[25] Deutsche Welle and Reuters quoted German prosecutors, stating: "Both suspects are accused of grievous bodily harm while on duty." [26][27]

According to Kurnaz, the men wore German uniforms, and spoke German with him:

"They asked me if I knew who they were and then they said, 'We are the KSK,' I thought they would have some questions and that they could help me, but they told me I had chosen the wrong side."[26][27]

The German Ministry of Defense had initially denied that KSK members were in Afghanistan at that time.[25][26][27] But they now acknowledge that the KSK was in Kandahar, and had contact with Kurnaz, after interviewing members of the KSK. Although the investigation was eventually dropped, the government stated that they still had trouble believing the soldiers' version of events and that abuse may have occurred.[30]

A German Parliamentary inquiry is investigating the extent to which German military and counter-terrorism authorities took advantage of the United States extraordinary rendition program.[25][26][27]

Release planned for 2002

Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Kurnaz's lawyer sued the DoD and more of the documents from his dossier have been made public.[31] These included a 2002 memo that stated Kurnaz had been cleared of suspicion, and that his release was planned for September 30, 2002.[32]

The Washington Post republished one of the newly released documents, written by David B. Lacquement, a senior officer in Military Intelligence.[33] Among the justifications for considering Kurnaz an enemy combatant:

  • He joked about explosives being present in items.
  • He had covered his ears and tried to pray when the American anthem was being played;
  • He had expressed contempt for US leaders;
  • He has mocked the Guard's monitoring logs, by telling a guard to record that he had eaten his whole meal, when he had only eaten an apple.
  • That the attack on 9/11 was in the Koran and approved as an attack against infidels.

Pentagon spokesman Commander Jeffrey Gordon would not discuss whether the DoD now acknowledges Kurnaz was innocent, but he "...stressed that a substantial amount of information about Kurnaz remains classified."[31]

McClatchy News Service interview

On June 15, 2008 the McClatchy News Service published a series of articles based on interviews with 66 former Guantanamo captives,[34] including Kurnaz.[35] Kurnaz told his McClatchy interviewer that he was apprehended while on his way to the airport to return to Germany.[35] He said that when his van was first stopped, his main fear was that he would miss his flight. He was sold by the Pakistani police to US officials for a bounty.[35]

He said that, while in the Kandahar detention facility, at times his head was immersed in water, and he was kicked in the stomach by a guard, so he would inhale water, and have the feeling of drowning.[35] He reported having been severely beaten in Guantanamo, and suffering sexual molestation by three female guards.[35] A Pentagon inquiry in 2005 found evidence of such sexual abuses at Guantanamo.[36]

Since his return to Germany, Kurnaz lives with his parents. He has a desk job, which he enjoys. He says he does not hold ordinary Americans responsible for the abuse he endured.[35]

Comments regarding Guantanamo's 2013 hunger strike

In early 2013 desperate captives remaining in extrajudicial detention at Guantanamo started a hunger strike.[37] In an interview with Russia Today Kurnaz said he thought the strike would not end until cleared men were released and the other captives were given fair trials. In his interview he described his own experience as a hunger striker.

In the interview Kurnaz said that he believed American authorities were prepared to release him in 2002, and that the four-year delay in his transfer was due to reluctance by Germany to accept him.[37]

Bibliography

Further reading

See also

References

  1. ↑ "AlterNet: Rights and Liberties: Disappeared: Five Years in Guantanamo". Retrieved 2007-07-07. 
  2. ↑ Murat Kurnaz, Five Years of My Life: An Innocent Man in Guantanamo, Part I, The Guardian, 23 April 2008, accessed 24 January 2013
  3. ↑ OARDEC (May 15, 2006). "List of Individuals Detained by the Department of Defense at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba from January 2002 through May 15, 2006" (PDF). United States Department of Defense. Retrieved 2007-09-29. 
  4. ↑ Washington Post: "Turk Was Abused at Guantanamo, Lawyers Say", Washington Post, August 25, 2006
  5. ↑ "Meeting Murat Kurnaz: A Visit with a Man Wrongly Detained at Guantanamo", Der Spiegel
  6. ↑ "Christian Science Monitor: Guantánamo ex-detainee tells Congress of abuse". Retrieved 2008-05-21. 
  7. ↑ Andy Worthington, "Guantánamo Suicide Report: Truth or Travesty?", 25 August 2008, Andy Worthington website, accessed 8 February 2013
  8. ↑ OARDEC (22 September 2004). "Summary of Evidence for Combatant Status Review Tribunal: KARNAZ Murat". United States Department of Defense. pp. pages 76–77. Retrieved 2008-04-22. 
  9. ↑ OARDEC (date redacted). "Summarized Sworn Detainee Statement". United States Department of Defense. pp. pages 101–110. Retrieved 2008-04-22. 
  10. ↑ "Annual Administrative Review Boards for Enemy Combatants Held at Guantanamo Attributable to Senior Defense Officials". March 6, 2007. Retrieved November 12, 2010. 
  11. ↑ OARDEC (12 October 2005). "Unclassified Summary of Evidence for Administrative Review Board in the case of Karnaz, Murat". United States Department of Defense. pp. pages 87–88. Retrieved 2008-05-27. 
  12. ↑ Combatant Status Review Tribunal (CSRT) and Administrative Review Board (ARB) Documents - Released March 3, April 3, and April 19, 2006, Department of Defense, March 3, 2006
  13. ↑ OARDEC (date redacted). "Summary of Administrative Review Board Proceedings of ISN 61". United States Department of Defense. pp. pages 53–62. Retrieved 2008-04-22. 
  14. ↑ OARDEC (28 June 2006). "Unclassified Summary of Evidence for Administrative Review Board in the case of Karnaz, Murat". United States Department of Defense. pp. pages 22–23. Retrieved 2008-05-27. 
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 OARDEC (30 June 2006). "Classified Record of Proceedings and basis of Administrative Review Board recommendation for ISN 061". United States Department of Defense. pp. pages 40–46. Retrieved 2008-05-27. 
  16. ↑ OARDEC (8 July 2006). "Administrative Review Board assessment and recommendation ICO ISN 061". United States Department of Defense. pp. page 39. Retrieved 2008-05-27. 
  17. ↑ "Murat Karnaz v. George W. Bush" (PDF). United States Department of Defense. 15 October 2004. pp. page 91–122. Retrieved 2008-05-25. 
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 Carol D. Leonnig (March 27, 2005). "Panel Ignored Evidence on Detainee". Washington Post. pp. A01. Retrieved 2008-01-20.  mirror
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 "Guantanamo ex-detainee tells Congress of abuse", Christian Science Monitor, 22 May 2008, accessed 24 January 2013
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 "Murat Kurnaz", Seton Hall University Law School, Center for Social Justice, accessed 24 January 2013
  21. ↑ "Lost in Guantánamo", United Press International, December 22, 2005
  22. ↑ "Germany Negotiates with US to Free Guantanamo Prisoner", Deutsche Welle, February 12, 2006
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 Germany asked to take in four Guantanamo prisoners, Khaleej Times, July 1, 2006
  24. ↑ Lou Dubose (July 7, 2007). "Disappeared: Five Years in Guantanamo". The Washington Spectator. Retrieved 2007-07-11. "During the seventeen-hour ride, the prisoner was provided with neither food nor water. Nor was he allowed to stretch his legs or relieve himself."  mirror
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 25.3 25.4 25.5 "Did German soldiers abuse ex-prisoner?". United Press International. January 8, 2007. Retrieved 2007-01-08. 
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 26.3 26.4 26.5 "German Soldiers Accused of Abusing Terror Suspect". Deutsche Welle. January 8, 2007. Retrieved 2007-01-08. 
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 27.3 27.4 27.5 "Germany probes 2 in ex-Guantanamo inmate abuse case". Reuters. January 8, 2007. Retrieved 2007-01-08. 
  28. ↑ John Goetz, Holger Stark (September 3, 2007). "German Soldiers under fire: New Testimony May Back Kurnaz Torture Claims". Der Spiegel. Retrieved 2007-09-03. 
  29. ↑ "German prosecutors investigate two soldiers on suspicion of mistreating prisoner in Afghanistan". International Herald Tribune. January 8, 2007. Retrieved 2007-01-08. 
  30. ↑ IHT, German prosecutors drop investigation into alleged abuse of prisoner in Afghanistan, May 29, 2007
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 Carol D. Leonnig (December 5, 2007). "Evidence Of Innocence Rejected at Guantanamo". Washington Post. pp. page A01. Retrieved 2008-01-09.  mirror
  32. ↑ Anton Dankert (September 26, 2002). "Interrogation team has just reported in by telephone from the base in Washington" (PDF). The Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-01-09. "Delegation head MA Räuker asks that - because of numerous noteworthy details - he be able to personally present Pt on September 30, 2002 upon his return." 
  33. ↑ David B. Lacquement. "Updated Assessment and Recommentation to redacted in the Case of Detainee ISN 0061" (PDF). Southcom. Retrieved 2008-01-09. 
  34. ↑ Tom Lasseter (June 15, 2008). "Guantanamo Inmate Database: Page 1". Miami Herald. Retrieved 2008-06-16.  mirror
  35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 35.2 35.3 35.4 35.5 Tom Lasseter (June 15, 2008). "Guantanamo Inmate Database: Murat Kurnaz". Miami Herald. Retrieved 2008-06-16.  mirror
  36. ↑ Detainees Accuse Female Interrogators: Pentagon Inquiry Is Said to Confirm Muslims' Accounts of Sexual Tactics at Guantanamo, Washington Post, February 10, 2005
  37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 "Hunger strikers won’t stop until they get a fair trial - former Gitmo inmate". Russia Today. 2013-05-16. Archived from the original on 2013-05-16. "Murat Kunaz a former prisoner in Guantanamo says that the inmates currently on hunger strike will not voluntarily eat again unless they get a fair trial and the detainees cleared for release are discharged." 

External links

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